Only 10, Lodi junior dragster burning up the strip
By Richard Banas II
News-Sentinel Staff Writer
Updated: Friday, August 15, 2008 2:34 PM PDT
Comments (78 comment(s))

Garrett Easley has five years left before he can get his driver's permit. Yet, he is already the fastest junior dragster racer in Lodi.

The 10-year old Easley received a medallion for competing in the National Junior Dragster finals in Denver, Colo., in late July.

In the preliminaries, he qualified for the semifinals out of 54 racers but was eliminated in the third round after posting his best time of 12.90 seconds and hitting a top speed of 52 mph.

There's no question that the 4-foot-8, 70-pound Easley loves strapping himself into the roll cage of his 278-pound dragster and hurtling himself down an 1/8 mile drag strip at high speeds.

"I think it's pretty awesome not to be old enough to have a driver's license and yet still get to drive a dragster at 50 miles per hour," Easley said from his Lodi home this week.

Easley's fascination with speed began two years ago when Paul Easley, Garrett's father and a racing aficionado, took Garrett to look at a junior dragster that the neighbor of a friend had for sale. They didn't buy it, but they were smitten by the drag racing bug.

The Easleys then started looking around for the right car and found one on the East Coast and had it shipped it to Lodi. While most junior dragsters are made with aluminum and fiberglass, the younger Easley's 1989 dragster is entirely metal and is likely the oldest car racing on the West Coast.

(... Story continues at SOURCE: Lodi News-Sentinenal. Be sure to read the comment section -- there are some big misconceptions about the "dangers" of jr. drag racing being discussed there.)

I feel my son is safer in his jr. dragster than he is riding his bike to and from school. This people have no true understanding of our sport.

I totally agree, turbinemaniac. I hate to see comments posted like the ones that follow the story.

I think publicity for the kids is wonderful, I just wish we could do more to educate the general public about the sport's safety record.

Some clueless folks there. I love the whole "propensity to catch fire" thing.